Tag: knee physio

fitness

Knee replacement recovery is an all on thing

Sam B1 Comment

In the last week I’ve seen two personal trainers, one physiotherapist and one massage therapist. I’ve ridden my bike on the trainer most days and I’ve carefully met my step goal everyday.

Also, I’ve done physio at home everyday.

It’s a full-time job. I’m thankful for my benefits and for a life that allows me to focus a lot of my energy on recovery.

But it’s a full on time and money consuming thing. I’ve got a lot of determination and good habits and a life built around time to exercise but I still struggle. I’ve got lots of sympathy for people who aren’t used to doing physio through pain and who haven’t rehabbed athletic injuries before.

I’m alternating between feeling grateful I’ve got the time and money to do all this and feeling grumpy that I have to do it. Round two will be this spring, I hope. After that it’ll be another 6-12 months of physio.

And in between this recovery and the next (hoping for right knee surgery this coming spring) I’d like a bit of a break on concentrating on knees and knee physio.

What I’m hoping for when all that’s done is everyday stuff without pain (getting groceries and standing at convocation) but also hiking, long dog walks, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and dancing up a storm.

Unlikely this is my dancing future but a person can dream.

Walking backwards, sure, but why?
fitness · walking

Walking backwards, sure, but why?

Sam B2 Comments

Recently at physio my physiotherapist had me walking backwards and she suggested I keep doing it at home. True confessions: I haven’t. My house is too small and it’s full of things!

The thing is though I don’t limp when walking backwards and I do when walking forwards.

It also helps with extension, one of the goals of physiotherapy.

“Reverse walking may help increase knee extension range of motion. If you have a knee injury, knee surgery, or knee arthritis, you may have a loss of knee extension, which is your knee’s ability to straighten. While walking backward, your bent knee straightens fully while you are moving from your toes onto your heel.”

Turns out there are lot of good things that reverse walking can do. See What Does Reverse Walking Do?

It’s also the latest exercise trend in Japan, mentioned in this article about reasons to walk in the wet and the dark.

And of course it’s a trend on Tick Tok. See The Latest TikTok Trend Has People Walking Backward On the Treadmill—Here’s How It Benefits Your Body

“Walking backward has been shown to help improve the strength of the quads and calf muscles, and reduce pain in the knee, Dr. Hashish explains. In fact, it’s sometimes promoted for individuals with knee joint arthritis to help alleviate pain and improve their mobility.”

“Another benefit? Walking backward effectively forces the knee joint to straighten.”

“Walking backward is commonly promoted for individuals who lack knee range of motion, such as following ACL reconstruction, where one of the principal deficits is the inability to straighten out the knee,” says Dr. Hashish.

@junleefit

Incorporating walking backwards 2-3x/wk can become your best friend when it comes to rehab. #fyp #kneepain #physicaltherapy #gym

♬ Rock and A Hard Place – Bailey Zimmerman

How about you? Have you tried walking backwards as either a physio thing or a fitness thing?